Dyogenes syndrom and animal accumulation syndrom
This text can interest you whether you are a: landlord, a tenant or a Real Estate agent. Loneliness is bad: it is a beautiful challenge of our society to erase it.
How to act when the lack of mental health is an obstacle to healthy housing?
To answer this question we focus on two syndromes: the accumulation of animals and the accumulation of objects - the disorder called Silogomania. It is wrong to believe that the behaviours caused by these diseases are due to bad faith. The mentally ill people are human beings and not something alien to "confront".
Dealing with the problem requires an Estate Agent with: the ability to detect the problem when it is still beggining and hability to deal with everyone. On the one hand, to offer an effective solution, on the other hand, if an extreme situation is reached, it will be necessary call the Public Administration to act in order to clean the affected floor.
Part 1: let's know the disorders we are talking about.
1. Who are the affected people?
In both cases, elderly people who live alone and with fear.
2. Are the affected people themselves capable of stopping the symptoms?
No, these are compulsive behaviours, therefore a "repetitive and undesirable behaviours that drive people to do something over and over again".
3. How do affected people justify their behaviour?
This is a key question to understand your reactions as an administrator when talking to them.
On the one hand, those who accumulate living beings say that they do so to "save" them. In reality, the person perceives that they keep him/her company. In the Silogomania the accumulation of old objects, garbage and money is justified by pointing out that both garbage and money will serve him/her when he perceives that he/she is in danger of being poor. However, even if he/she has a lot of money he/she will not use it and will live in misery.
What are the characteristics of Animal Accumulation Syndrome?
1. You have too many living beings: How many are "too many"? When they are overcrowded and therefore impossible to maintain properly. The person usually picks up dogs and cats in the street
2. He/she speaks a little: he/she communicates little and is very suspicious of strangers
3. It does not take care of the animals: with time and the lack of any sanitary care many get sick like this, at any moment they can be vectors of infections, attract plagues and end up dying
4. He/she denies his/her inability to care for living beings: he/she is unaware of his/her illness. This fact also makes him forget his own care
What are the characteristics of syllogomania?
1. Compulsive accumulation: collects and accumulates at home garbage (which also comes from not throwing it away) and old or directly useless objects
2. Gradual withdrawal and isolation: little communication and great distrust of strangers
3. Not taken care of: its closure results in lack of hygiene and inadequate food
4. Anxiety: in case "his/her" objects are touched.
Part 2: How to act to protect the health of the Community
It is not easy, however, there are general guidelines to be followed scrupulously as reported by the Diputació de Barcelona:
1. Try to convince the affected person to receive treatment: under no circumstances should they be threatened, on the contrary, the estate agent should be empathic.
Apparently the aim is for the person to agree to be helped medically. It is almost certain that he will not recognize the problem. In reality, the aim is that the real estate agent to be perceived as non-hostile by the person concerned. This can be very useful for those who suffer from syndromes to allow future external interventions.
2. Address a letter to the health department of the city where the housing is: in case you see that the situation in the apartment is unsustainable (often already say the owners because they suffer from pests). Then, you should write to the municipality stating: What is the concrete problem and its consequences.
3. The local council should: address the situation from the health and social points of view. This means urging the owner of the flat - or his/her relatives - to allow themselves to be inspected and disinfected, to mediate with them and to provide them with psychiatric help.
All the actions contained here are foreseen in the "Law 18/2009 of public health" (Generalitat de Catalunya).
We hope to have contributed to solve your problem.